The Other Pack
by kittycow2004
Summary: Jacob is running away and runs right to Vermont. Finding a job is easy, finding out the family's secret is not. Jacob and the Baptiste's are hiding the same secret, what happens when they find out?
1. Chapter 1

This story idea has been driving me insane since i thought it up while i was lifeguarding. Yeah, my job is kinda boring. Anyway, this is a Blood and Chocolate / Twilight crossover that is centered on Jacob.

Jacob and his family never thought that there were other werewolves right. And they always saw themselves as vampire killers and whatnot, but this pack can understand the want to hunt and kill. They will change his outlook on what and who he is forever.

FYI Blood and Chocolate is a novel about a huge family of people that are all werewolves, and they are trying to figure out what to do after they had to leave their old home. this story takes place 25 years after the end of the book.

please leave reviews and tell me what you think, i rather like this story, but then again i wrote it.

And thanks go out to me fabulous beta Wolfen Dreams, she helped me a lot getting this off the ground

* * *

Serena Baptiste woke to the unpleasant sound of her older brothers fighting over T.V. Remote, again. She sighed and pushed back her blankets to walk to the door.

"SHUT UP!! It's 6 in the morning and I'm _trying_ to sleep!" Christophe looked over from where he was rubbing his younger brother Damien's head into the couch cushions and grinned. Rena was still half asleep, but he knew from experience that she could and would tear his head off for waking her up.

"Rennie, we were just fooling around. 'Sides, we all have work in an hour anyway. You might as well wake up."

She narrowed her eyes at him; she hated it when they used that name. "Well, if you puppies are so awake you can set up breakfast. Without me." she slammed the door to her room and they all heard the distinct _click _of the door lock.

"Damn Christophe, why didja have to do that? There's like 50 guests here this weekend," Zacharias complained. He hated the dining room duty, but if he complained to his parents they would tell him to stop waking up his sister.

"Couldn't resist, oldest brother privilege. Besides, there are 4 of us, it's not going to be hard," Christophe got up as he spoke and started for the door.

Damien sat up and pushed his blond hair out of his eyes before deflating his brother's balloon of hope.

"Actually, there are two of you. Theo's already cooking, and I have desk duty with Mom. So you two get breakfast duty all by yourselves." Smirking, Damien walked out of the family living area and to the reception room.

Christophe and Zacharias looked at each other, well Zach more glaring. "You," Zach pointed at Christophe. "Are doing the bulk of the work." With that said, he stormed out and went to the kitchen to beg food off Theo before the guests woke up.

Christophe glared at his sister's closed door for a minute before going off to hunt up his younger cousins to force them to lend a hand.

Serena waited until she heard the last set of steps out of the room before coming back out again. She knew it was useless to try and go back to sleep after she had actually gotten out of bed. She also knew that her father wanted to talk to her before the day really started and now that she had effectively gotten herself out of dining room duty, she could.

Serena once more closed and locked her door so she could get dressed without 20 people dropping in. She glanced in the mirror and winced at what she saw, a short girl with uncontrollable curly black hair and over large blue-green eyes.

Why couldn't she look more like her mother; tall, leggy, and blond? Both her parents and all 4 of her older brothers were tall, where had her tallness gone? Zach and Theo stole it she decided, they were both over 6'5". Yep, they stole her height.

Her mother, hell her grandmother, still had heads turning when they walked into a room, they were drop dead gorgeous. The only reason that heads turned when she walked into the room was because she was the pack leader's daughter and still unmated.

Serena grimaced once more that the mirror and pulled on jeans and a shirt before tugging on her sneakers and leaving.

This early in the morning her father was always in the same place, made her search really easy.

"Papa, you told me you wanted to talk." She poked her head into her parents' room and saw her dad finishing getting dressed.

"That's right, my night princess. Come, pull up some mattress and talk to me." He patted the spot next to him and waited till she sat.

"Whoa, sounds serious. What's going on?" she sat and inwardly noted that sitting, she still only came up to the middle of his arm.

Gabriel smiled at his only daughter and turned to face her head on. Vivian had been pushing him for days to talk to Serena, apparently there was something wrong.

"Just that well, um...your mother and I are a little worried. You aren't going out with Marissa or Ella anymore, something happen between you three?" Gabriel asked. He really hoped that his daughter wouldn't turn into a regular teenage girl and start crying. That would be rather uncomfortable. He knew that normally teenager girls, like Rosa, were apt to cry at the drop of a hat. Serena had always been more like her mother, tough, but her mother didn't have close female friends when she was younger. Gabriel hoped that some fight between the girls hadn't hurt his baby girl.

"Well, Ella had distanced herself from the entire Baptiste clan since you and Bucky decided that the match of her and Damien wasn't right. And Marissa never really hung out anyway. Look if all you wanted to do was poke into my private life, I'm leaving." Serena got up like she meant it and started for the door.

"No, princess, wait. There is something else that really needs to be discussed." Gabriel dragged a hand through his hair in a sign of rare agitation. Well, at least she wasn't crying, but this next topic might set her off. Serena paused and looked at him, but made no move to sit down again.

"You were seventeen this past fall, which means that you need to start thinking about a mate. There are several… Damn it!" Gabriel stood up and paced the room, he hated thinking about this. He had married Vivian when she was eighteen; Christophe had been born a year later. The idea of _his_ baby girl doing that was hard to accept.

"There are several boys your age. You need to pick, or we can visit another pack. But you do have to choose, and soon. This isn't something you can smile your way out of, either, baby. Not like you normally do when you're told to do something that you don't want to do." Gabriel stopped pacing and looked at his dumbfounded daughter. "Sorry, my darling, but that's pack law."

"I know that it's pack law! That the alpha's daughter is considered a threat to every marriage and mating until she herself is mated. It's so stupid though, I don't want anyone else's husband or boyfriend. I don't want anyone!" Serena stood up and paced as well. She should have known this was coming, as much as she didn't look like her mother she still strained the smiles of all the pack females. It was for the good of pack relations that she be mated.

Secretly Gabriel was pleased that she didn't want any of the boys in the pack, but this was still a problem that needed to be solved. "Then you will have to travel with me to a different pack. There is one in Charleston that has several unmated men."

"But Papa, then I have to live there."

"That's what happens when females look outside the pack. Which is another reason to look here first." And as pleased as he was that she didn't want any of the boys here, he wanted his baby close.

"It's all not fair!"

"As cliché as it sounds, life's not fair, my pet. We can talk about it more later, time for the day to start. Come on, let's go down for breakfast."

Serena allowed herself to be propelled to the door and down the stairs. She was in shock. Normally she got her way with anything her father wanted. Partly because she was the youngest, and partly because she was the only girl. Part of her was becoming resigned to the fact however that she was going to be stuck picking a mate, ugh she had to pick someone that she considered a cousin or something. Without getting someone else mad.

Her mother was waiting at the foot, and saw from their faces that they had the talk. She didn't think it was fair either, but Serena was the Alpha's daughter. She needed to be mated before a fight broke out between her and a jealous female. That had happened when Ulf went to another pack to find a wife. Apparently he still had nightmares about it.

"Well, look what we have here. The handsomest man and the prettiest girl in the world," Vivian commented as they came down. "Let's get some seats before they all get snatched."

"Thanks mom, but I think I'll eat with Theo in the kitchen. Give him a hand with the orders." Serena bypassed her mother's outstretched hand and walked through the kitchen's swinging door.

"I understand the feelings she has, but I really hope that she doesn't repeat my mistakes." Vivian said to Gabriel.

"We're safer here in the woods than we were that summer in Maryland. It won't be the same." He linked arms with his wife, and together they went into the dining room to greet their guests and their pack.

* * *

The kitchen was moving already by the time she got there. Theo was cooking as usual, their father hadn't exactly been pleased when one of his sons liked cooking. Then he tasted what Theo made and changed his mind.

Serena wasn't the only one that sought refuge in the kitchen. Marissa was sulking into a cup of tea when she walked in.

"Hey, 'Rissa. Why so glum?"

"My parents gave me the mate talk this morning. I need to pick before summer, or they do it for me."

"Oh, you too? The problem is for me, is that I don't want to mate with any of the boys here." Serena got a coffee cup down and sat across from Marissa at the island.

"I want someone... I just don't think that they want me." Marissa looked up with pleading in her eyes; she didn't know what to do. Should she confront him, get someone to ask him, or just let it be?

"You know, girls seem to think that boys are psychic. That we always know when they want us or what they want from us. 'Rissa, you need to talk to Mason before someone else snatches him up." Theo placed two plates with eggs and toast in front of them and turned back to the stove.

"It's that obvious?" she was horrified, the idea that everyone knew she was mooning over Mason Griffin was embarrassing.

"Just to my mother; she asked me to gently question Mason for you. I say take the chance." Theo said in reply; he smirked at the blush that bloomed in her cheeks at the idea of Mason Griffin liking her.

"Okay," Marissa wiped her sweaty hands on her jeans and started on her breakfast. "I'll work up the courage to do that later… Yeah, later. Just don't tell Henri. As my older brother he feels the need to protect me all the time."

"So noted. Oh, your dad stopped by and said that you aren't needed at the gift shop today. So later you might wander by the carpentry shed, say a quick hello."

"Thanks Theo, I'm gonna talk to my mom, see what she says." Marissa dumped her dishes in the sink and walked out to the dining room where her mother was hostessing.

"Ahhhh, will you look at that. Theodore is giving love advice. The boy that isn't mated himself." Serena smirked at him over her breakfast. The idea tickled her, especially since she knew that Theo used to have a crush on Marissa.

"Hey, I'm 21. Boys don't mate till they are older, girls are the ones that start early," Theo said.

"You get the easy road. I have to find a mate that Dad will approve of. Easier said than done."

"Don't worry, you'll find someone. Though that someone better treat you like the princess you are, or else the older brothers will descend."

"Thanks for the warning, Theo dear," Serena threw her dishes in the sink as well before she headed out. Being the only one in her immediate family that really liked swimming, she was always stuck with pool duty. At least it was easy, if not very interesting. And it would give her some much needed time to think about this mate problem. She wasn't going to settle for anyone that didn't make her heart want to jump out of her chest.

* * *

Jacob Black was tired. Tired of running, tired of being a wolf, and tired of being by himself. He didn't even really know where he was, much less the date or anything. The woods allowed the days to flow together, and even though he had gone home for a bit in September the pain was still there. So he continued to run.

He stepped carefully through the woods, it might be a hunting season of some type and he would prefer not to get shot. He saw a town or village or whatever through the trees and settled down to wait for night.

The one really bad thing about phasing was you couldn't do it in clothes. There were books when he was a kid, Animorphs, or something like that. They could change shape with clothes, why couldn't he? Made going in public a pain, because nudity was still against the law.

Finally, there weren't any more people walking around, all the shop lights were out, so Jacob ventured forth. He stayed in his wolf form and went to the nearest garbage can to find a newspaper. The paper would hopefully have a date and a location on it. He found near the top, figured that the person threw it out on their way home. He grabbed it with his teeth and trotted back to the safety of the trees.

He phased back to human to better handle it, and unfolded the paper to the front page.

"Holy Shit!!" he exploded, and immediately winced at how loud he was. The date must be wrong. There was no way it was that late already.

But the headline was perfectly clear, date and all.

**January 15, 2008 Hull, Quebec, Canada**

**The City of Hull Gazette **

**Large beast sightings in area, please keep all children and pets in home after dark. **

Looks like he wasn't being as careful as he thought he was. And how the hell did he end up in Quebec?! That was completely across the continent from where he started out. It meant though that he needed to get stateside before he tried to live human again, he had no ID and no passport, so he couldn't stay. He could however apply for an ID in the States, he thought. He might need some documents, but he was sure that it would be easy.

He really wanted to sleep in a bed again and talk to people, eat real food. There were aspects of living as a wolf that just weren't appealing anymore. Most of them had to do with permanently camping for nearly 4 months.

So he would swim across the river and find himself a hotel or something that he could trade work for room and board. Then he would think about whether or not he wanted to go back to Washington and La Push, it was leaning towards no. He couldn't walk the beach, drive his car, prowl through the woods, or even ride his bike without remembering her. He wasn't ready to fact that just yet.

But he would call his dad and his friends when he got the chance. They were probably worried sick after all this time, unless of course they had been following him or something. Nah, they wouldn't do that, would they?

_That doesn't matter,_ he scolded himself, _what does matter is that I need to get back to the States and start living again. _

With this in mind he phased back to wolf and started heading southeast toward the St. Laurence River. The states that were across it were like Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York, if he had his geography right. Those were nice states, pretty in the fall. And while there was rain, there wasn't a lot like at home. Therefore the area was nearly perfect to him.

* * *

3 days later found Jacob staring at the sign that announced that he was in Vermont, that he was currently in the Green Mountain National Forest, and that the nearest town, Calais, was 40 miles that way. There was even a cute little arrow pointing down the road. Jacob shrugged and started down the road, it was the middle of the night so there was a very small chance that there would be cars to hit him. He ambled past a sign that announced he was in Washington County and another that showed where Curtis Pond was. He figured that he had another 20 or so miles to the town when he saw a sign for Wolf Run Inn.

_I guess that means that there's a wolf trail somewhere nearby _he thought.

Jacob realized, however, that he needed clothes before he could go to the inn so he veered back to the road in search of houses with laundry lines. Yes, there was like a foot of snow on the ground, but no matter what the season, people had to do laundry, right?

He wasn't really sure. Rebecca and Rachael had done the laundry at home and when they moved out, Mrs. Clearwater took over.

He saw a house coming up and walked over to the back. In a screened porch sort of deal there was, in fact, a laundry line, and lucky for him a huge row of shoes. _People over here must have big feet, _he thought. All the shoes were huge; he easily found a pair that was his size. He grabbed a thermal shirt and jeans in his sizes and went to the coat rack, but stopped. He didn't want anyone to think that all their stuff was being stolen. He would split up where he took stuff. He felt a little bad about taking all their stuff, but he couldn't walk around naked could he?

He went back out the door before someone woke up. He went further down the street to another house where he, he decided, would get a jacket. He found the oldest jacket there and grabbed it, he might not actually need it, but people would need to see it.

He crossed the street and on yet another back porch, they must be a trend, got underwear and socks.

Holding all the clothes in his mouth he plunged back into the trees and started back to the inn. They were right next to a National Forest so he assumed that they had business from campers and such, and they would need extra help.

He followed the road from the side; he didn't want to be out in the open like that again. Now more so than earlier since he had all these clothes in his mouth. He was walking past the sign for Bliss Pond when he heard the howling.

It was louder than any noise the pack had ever made, even when he had been injured during the vampire fight.

_Jesus Christ, that pack must be huge. No wonder they call the inn Wolf Run Inn. God, wonder if they cause any trouble for the people that run it?_

Jacob was expecting one of those little country inns that you always see featured in a magazine. He was really wrong. The place was huge! Like one of those Southern Mansions had been ripped up and placed down in the Vermont woods. There had to be like 150 rooms, easy.

Yeah, big places like this were always looking to hire people out. He could get a job here. Jacob glanced up and studied the sky, there was almost an hour till sunrise, he could wait that long.

Jacob was human, dressed, and ready to go when the first lights downstairs came on. He cleared his throat as he walked to the front door so it wouldn't sound rusty, and knocked.

A tall woman with dark blond hair opened the door.

"Yes?" her eyes skimmed up and down him, she seemed surprised at how tall he was.

"Hello ma'am," Jacob licked his lips and continued. "My name's Jacob Back. I was wondering if you needed any extra help with labor or something. I'd be willing to trade it for room and board."

"Hmmm, would you now?" She stepped back and appraised him.

"Come in, Mr. Black. I'm Vivian Baptiste; you may call me Mrs. Baptiste. You can talk with my husband about the job, though I'm sure that we can find something for you to do."

She led him through the house which was just as cool on the inside as it was on the outside. Pictures of people lined the hallways of the top floor; most of the subjects were repeated.

"My family," was all she said when she caught him staring.

She stopped in front of an impressive door and knocked before entering. A huge man sat behind the desk, looking like he was going over figures with a tall lanky man that looked to be about the same age as Mrs. Baptiste.

"Gabriel?"

"Hey Viv, who's that?" Gabriel focused his attention on the large Native American man that stood behind his wife. There weren't that many Native Americans around here though there were tribes in the state.

"This is Jacob Black; he's looking for work in exchange for room and board. He was wondering if we had anything for him."

Gabriel leaned on his desk and sized the boy up, he could do for some of the more manual labor that they had. "Sure, I think that we could come to an arrangement. Greg, come you come back later? We'll finish the tax stuff then."

"Whatever you want, Gabe." Greg strolled out the door and closed it behind him.

"So, young man. How old are you? Where are you from? And do you have any special skills that could be useful to us here?"

"Well, I'm 18 as of like a week ago. I use to live on the La Push Reservation in Washington State, and I can do carpentry really well."

"You can work with wood?" At Jacob's nod he stood up and walked over to one of many filing cabinets that lined a wall. He pulled some files and walked back to the desk.

"Okay, you're hired on a probation period. Here are all the government forms; we'll need some form of ID..."

"Uh, my backpack got stolen outside Albany. I don't have my license or anything. But I could call my dad and he could mail the right stuff, like a birth certificate or something." Jacob quickly lied about his lack of personal items and ID.

"Is that why you are looking for a job?"

"Kinda, wanted to settle somewhere for a while."

"Okay, well, we'll worry about paperwork later than. Let me walk you down to the shop and introduce you to Tristan and Henri. They work there too." Gabriel stood up and pulled a heavy coat off a hanger and started to the door when he suddenly stopped.

"Ah, Jacob? There are girls here, uh, teenagers about your age and younger. No offense is meant but..."

"Keep my hands off them?"

Gabriel winced, "I wasn't going to say it like that, but yes. It isn't because you're an Indian. It's just... we tend to sort of keep things in the family."

"It's alright. I promise that I won't touch any of them, unless it's a life threatening situation."

"Good, that's good."

* * *

Again please review Please

helps me update faster


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry this took so long to get back to all you guys, but here is the second chapter.

Also warning now that Breaking Dawn as come out, this doesn't follow it. But then the first chapter kinda showed that.

REVIEW please

* * *

Jacob followed his new employer through the halls, instead of going back to the front of the house like he thought they went to the kitchen

Jacob followed his new employer through the halls, instead of going back to the front of the house like he thought they went to the kitchen. The kitchen that had a raging argument going on.

"You Butthead! What were you thinking going into my room?" A petite brunette was advancing on a tall blond man. Not really threatening, until you saw the butcher knife in her hand.

"Look Rena," the man backed up a little keeping a close watch on the knife. "I didn't mean anything by it. Mom told me that you had the manual to the van in your room. It's broken and I needed to fix it, and to do that I needed the manual. See, there was nothing rude or invasive about it."

"You could have asked me for the damn thing, I never leave the property after all." She narrowed her eyes at him, and gave the knife a pointed look.

"You were cursing the pool pump, something about chlorine levels. Didn't seem like a good time to bother you." He held up his hands in surrender when she still didn't back down. "Alright, I'm sorry Serena that I went into your room without permission and went through your belongings. I, as your favorite brother Theodore, promise to never do it again."

Jacob looked to his left and noticed that Gabriel hadn't interfered, in fact he was watching it play out with his arms folded and a smile. He stepped forward as Serena set down the knife and Theodore turned back to the stove.

"I'm so glad that my children don't have to resort to violence to see that they are respected." It was all he said, but Jacob saw both kids wince. Obviously their father didn't approve of the threats with knives, or room invasions.

"Sorry Papa, but when my temper gets the best of me..." Serena smiled at him and gave him a swift hug. Gabriel smiled and brushed a hand over her head before turning to Theodore.

Theodore sighed, but lifted the spatula in his hand like most would simply raise their hand and spoke. "I also am sorry that I allowed the order of my mother to override my common sense."

"Good, now that that's cleared up, this is Jacob, he's going to be helping us out for a while. See that he gets breakfast Theo, and then take him to the carpentry shed. I have to go greet the guests with your mother." Gabriel waved a hand and disappeared through the swinging doors on the other end of the kitchen.

"So, welcome to Wolf Run Inn. I'm Theo the cook, and the midget is my sister Serena. It's okay to pretend that she doesn't exist. I do it all the time, and I find that all my stress just melts away," Theo smirked over at his sister.

"Ahhh, that's so nice brother dear. Want me to tell Mom about the magazines I found under your bed?" She tilted her head to the side and smiled in triumph when all the color slid off his face. "That's what I thought."

Jacob looked between the two of them, there seemed to be more going on under the surface than simple sibling affection. He and his sisters had never acted this way. Theo all but threw plates of pancakes at him and Serena, Jacob simply raised his eyebrows.

"I'd say thank you, but I like my head where it is," he commented as he picked up his fork.

"Sorry, just been a bad morning. And Rennie isn't making it any better," Theo gave a grimace in apology and went back to the stove again. He also inwardly marveled at the sheer amount of food that Jacob could put away. He rivaled Theo and his brothers.

Another young teenager swung through the door with a large tray and started to heap other plates filled with food on them. She had pulled her own dark hair into a messy knot on the top of her head. When she saw Jacob she started in surprise.

"Hello," she said with a smooth and silky voice. "Where did you come from? Not often that we get such handsome men around here."

Jacob turned to Theo and looked at him in alarm, girls he knew simply didn't say that.

"My cousin Rosa," he introduced. "Don't worry, she's like that with everyone. Rosa go out with the food before it gets cold," he ordered.

She flashed him one more smile before parading out the doors and into the dining room. Serena leaned over and stole a piece of his toast before speaking.

"Here, finish up so and I'll take you to the carpentry shed."

"I thought your dad said that Theo was supposed to take me." he said.

"Well, Theo can't find the carpentry shed with both hands and a map..."

"Wait, that expression is usually used to describe finding your own ass, I mean butt. Your own butt," Jacob said. He was pretty sure that the girl had confused her expressions.

"Oh, you're right. Well eyes then. Both eyes and a map. Doesn't matter anyway, let's go. And by the way, you can say ass, we aren't going to faint at potty mouth. I'll probably say worse before the day is out." She shrugged as she pulled on her coat and opened the door waiting for him to catch up.

"Probably?" Theo muttered under his breath as they left.

#&(

Serena eyed the new boy out of the corner of her eye. Alright, so boy was stretching it a little. He looked at least 24 or so. He was also huge! Taller than any of her brothers, had about the same muscular build, and ate like them. A lot.

"So, you're Jacob right?"

He glanced down at her and gave a small smile, "Yep, that's my name."

When he didn't say anything else she continued her questioning.

"Is there a last name or are you going to be all mysterious and not tell me?" She craned her neck to see his reaction to that comment.

"Black, Jacob Black. Anything else that you want to question me on?"

She bit her lip, he sounded irritated. That wasn't part of the plan. But she decided to ask another question anyway.

"Where are you from? I've never seen you before and I'm sure that in a community this small we would have met before."

He closed his eyes for a second before answering. "Washington state, the La Push Reservation."

"Was it nice...oh here we are. This is the carpentry shed, and I'll introduce you to who you are working with and get to my own job." With a heartfelt sigh to be getting out of the guy's company, he had the personality of a rock which didn't make sense, as she had seen him have one in the kitchen, she opened the door.

She walked in ahead of Jacob, and forever wished she hadn't. Throwing her arms over her eyes she yelled, "Ahhh, that will forever be burned into my memory. My EYES!! MARISSA !! Damn, I so did NOT need to see that." She heard the shuffling sounds of Mason and Marissa untangling themselves and probably, considering it was them, blushing furiously. She turned sideways to where she felt Jacob's body heat, "Are they done yet?" She still had her hands over her eyes.

"Yes, they are. Though they rather look like they want to kill us."

"Well, they can consider being interrupted payback from me for that sight." She took her hands away from her eyes and noted that they did indeed want to kill her.

"Mason, Jacob. Jacob this is Mason, he works here as well. He can show you around if you need help. See you at dinner, bye!" She grabbed Marissa's arm and tugged her out the door.

"Serena, what the hell were you thinking!" Was all Jacob heard as the door swung shut.

"So, you are here to work?" Mason was confused, they very rarely let people other than the family to work here. Gabriel must have a pretty good reason, but no one would cross him as he was pack leader.

"Yeah, I have no money and I need a job. I'm good with wood so Mr. Baptiste sent me here." Jacob shrugged under Mason's measuring look.

"Well, if Gabriel sent you...I'll introduce you to the others and then we'll get you set up with a station." Mason walked further into the building, shed was an understatement.

The entry way that held coats and a telephone opened into a large area that held everything a woodworker would need. The building was spacious and had large windows to allow for natural light, and small movable lamps to focus on detail work. The floor and the walls were made out of wood and liberally coated in sawdust. Two walls had peghole boards on them to hang tools, and there were stations that were set up around the room. Three of the stations had projects on or around them, and of the 3 had men already at work. The blond one spoke when he heard them enter.

"Mas, you finally finish trying to suck Marissa's face off and come to work?" He looked up when he stopped talking, and looked surprised at the addition to the person that he had been expecting. "Who's that?" he asked.

"This is Jacob..." Mason trailed off and looked at Jacob.

"Black," Jacob finished when he realized that Mason didn't know his last name.

"Ah, Jacob Black. Gabriel sent him to work with us." Mason said quickly when he saw the questioning light spring to Carl's eyes.

"Jacob, the blond is Carl, and the old guy is Tristan. If you've met Rosa yet, he's in love with her," Mason said. Tristan glared at him, but didn't say anything in retaliation.

Mason walked over to one of the unused stations grabbing a sheet of paper off the desk as he went. "This one is yours. Here is a project that you can work on, unless you don't think that you can do it." Mason held out the sheet of paper that he had grabbed. Jacob took it and glanced at what the paper said. "A small 3 inch statue of a wolf howling, yeah I can do that. What breed of wolf?" Jacob was dimly aware of the fact that the other two stopped working to look at him.

"You know; gray, red, arctic. Sitting, standing, laying down, male or female, cub or adult." Jacob tapped the paper against the palm of his hand and looked at Mason. He was aware now that he was facing some kind of test, but he didn't know if he was passing.

"Gray, male adult, sitting look up as if at the moon. Very detailed, it's going in the bathroom on the first floor near the soap." Tristan spoke for the first time, he was wiping his hands on a rag and walked over to Jacob. He grabbed one of Jacob's hands and looked at the palm, Jacob didn't say anything. He knew that most carpenters had calluses from all the work. Tristan nodded and released Jacob's hand, "Welcome to the crew, pup," said Tristan. He walked back over to his station and went back to work like nothing happened.

"How did you know so much about wolves anyway?" Mason asked.

"Family legends, they are supposed to be our guardians and such. That and I lived right next to a huge forest, so I learned a lot," Jacob said.

"What tribe are you?" Carl had come over as well, Tristan stayed at his table.

"Quileute, in Washington."

"Cool," Carl and Mason went to their own stations and started back on their own work, leaving him alone.

Jacob worked the rest of the day without interruption or talking to any of the guys. It gave him the time to think over what the hell he had gotten himself into. Serena, she was nice and though she was really different from Bella...They looked similar, small with dark hair. But Serena wasn't soft like Bella had been. And by what he had observed she was younger than him for a change. He supposed that he would have to make amends for being snappy and distant this morning. But he hadn't been ready to talk to someone that was well... a teenage girl.

Jacob stood up from his stool and studied the figure that he had taken 9 hours to make. The male wolf howled at the unseen moon with his fur standing along the ridge of his spine. Jacob had fashioned him to resemble what Sam looked like when he transformed. If he said so himself, it looked pretty damn good.

He turned his head when he heard joints being popped after sitting so long. Mason turned from the chair that he was making and walked over to him. Mutely he studied the wolf on the table, Jacob nervously shifted back and forth. He knew that Tristan was the unspoken leader in the room, but Mason carried weight as well.

"It's good." Was all that Mason said before heading to the entry and grabbing his coat off the rack. Tristan came over as well, offered a grunt in acknowledgment before picking up the carving and getting his own coat.

"Time for dinner," was all he said as he tossed Jacob his own coat.

Jacob shrugged into it knowing that the grunt was all he was getting from the reserved Tristan. He really couldn't see him and Rosa together, but decided not to mention it.

He followed the other two back to the main house, Carl had left two hours early to help with dinner set up. They walked in a back door that he hadn't noticed before, it led to a small mudroom where they stomped off the mud and snow and hung their coats. They then led him to a huge dinning room that had two long tables set up. Gabriel sat at the head of one, Vivian sat at the foot, other dark haired, large people filled out the sides. Jacob glanced over at the other table and guessed that it was used for the inn's guests, as a motley crew sat there.

Tristan walked right over to Gabriel with the air of someone that wasn't afraid of his reaction. He said nothing, merely placed the wolf figurine by his elbow and went to sit next to a nervous looking woman. Jacob guessed it was his mother based on the resemblance that they shared.

Jacob stood there with his hands stuck in his pockets feeling rather left out of the family gathering. He watched as Gabriel picked up the figure and studied it closely before a small smile crossed his face and he looked over to Jacob.

"Jacob," he raised his hand and motioned him over. "This is my eldest Christophe and my second eldest Damien, sit next to them and grab some food."

Jacob lowered himself next to Damien and gave a small smile, they didn't return it. _Christ _he thought to himself, _They don't like me and aren't going to make this easy. _

He was snapped out of his musings by Gabriel speaking to him again. "This is Carl's father Gregory, you saw him in my office this morning. Next to him is Ivan, my nephew. He's close to your age, maybe you have something in common." With that settled, that Jacob had an age friend, Gabriel went back to talking to Gregory.

"Wait, hold up one minute," Christophe said as he caught wind of what his dad said. "You're," he pointed at Jacob, "only 17?"

"Actually, I'm 18. Why?"

"Cause you look like you're Damien's age, 23. Not 18, damn, you are really young."

"Whatever, I had to grow up fast. Age isn't just a number," Jacob said.

"Why did you have to grow up fast?" Damien wanted to know.

"My dad is a paraplegic, I had to take care of him," Jacob answered.

"That sucks man, sorry."

Dinner was a relatively quiet affair, there was only one fighting match between Mathias and Henri over the last dinner roll. Gabriel cut it in half.

Jacob went up to him after dinner and asked if it was okay to make a long distance call to his dad.

"I still need I.D. And stuff, like clothes and money. I don't want to put you out anymore."

"Yeah, that's fine, I'll bill you later. Oh, Jacob," he waited until Jacob turned back around from where he was walking to the phone. "That figurine that you made? It was one of the best that I have ever seen, you do good work."

"Thanks, my dad taught me. It's tradition to pass down the talent from father to son."

"Look forward to seeing what else he taught you."

Jacob nodded stiffly and walked back over to where the phone was placed in an alcove. He stared at it for a minute and wondered what the hell he was supposed to tell his dad. Billy wasn't going to react well to Jacob being in Vermont.

Jacob sighed and dialed the number that he had been forced to memorize at he age of 5 in case he got kidnapped.

The phone rang 27 times before Jacob gave up and hung up, he wondered where the hell his dad was? Maybe at the Clearwater's? He did have a hard time getting around on his own, but Paul had moved in with him the last time he was there. He dialed the Clearwater's number anyway, Sue picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Sue? It's me, Jacob."

He heard a huge gasp from the other end of the line.

"Jacob! Where are you! When they couldn't hear you anymore everyone got worried. Everyone! We have been driving ourselves crazy trying to figure out where you went. And you need to get your butt home now. This rebellion of yours isn't doing anyone any good. Your father is going spare, I have never seen him like this. Of course Sam is saying that we need to leave you alone and allow you to come back on your own and not pressure you, but..."

"He's right. Look Sue, as nice as it is to listen to you yell at me, I need to talk to my dad. Is he with you?" Jacob shifted from foot to foot as people walked down the hall behind him, they needed to learn how to hide their eavesdropping better.

"Yes, yes, of course. Couldn't let him be by himself could I? Here he is, be nice Jacob." He heard her move around and say something to his dad before Billy came on the line.

"Is this really you, Jacob?"

Jacob wasn't sure what just came over him, but hearing his dad's voice after months...he had something in his eye, alright.

"Hey Dad," he choked out before his dad hung up or something.

"Jacob, where the HELL are you? It's been almost FIVE months since we last heard from you! Your sisters even came home to help look for you, the _bloodsuckers _offered to keep an eye out for you. I know that you can take care of yourself, but really."

Jacob took and deep breath and prepared for the tongue lashing if his life. "I'm in Vermont, near the Green Mountain National Forest."

"WHAT?? How did you get THERE?? You were supposed to stay near Alaska, and western Canada."

"I'm not really sure, but I got a job at an inn. I have no I.D. Cause you know... and my new employer wants to fill out these tax forms and stuff. So I was wondering if you could mail me all the pertinent items and stuff." Jacob held his breath, he could hear his dad wheezing on the other end of the phone.

"No I will not, you need to come _home._ I need you at home, and..."

"I'm not ready to come home yet. When I am, I will. But I'm not yet." He could hear other voices coming from Sue's house, looks like she had called Sam. He distinctly heard Sam telling his dad to let it go and send him the forms. His dad came back on the line.

"Alright, what is the address of the place that you are staying?"

"Just address it to me at Wolf Run Inn, P.O. Box # 234 Calais, Vermont 05648. Thanks, Dad."

"Just hurry up and come home, Jake."

Jacob was hanging up the phone when the doorbell rang. He saw Vivian open it and greet the uniformed officer on the other side. He edged closer just in time to hear why he was there.

"Mrs. Baptiste, we have another missing hiker. We were wondering if you and your family would help. You always find the missing ones."

Jacob stopped and attempted to process, what did he mean they always find the missing ones? Well, it is their land, and there are several of them. But, those wolves that he heard... but it looked like now that crashing for the night was not an option. Damn.


	3. Chapter 3

here is the next chapter, regular disclaimer applies, except with my characters

also, this is a celebration chapter for me, i was accepted to college and have recieved what is basically a FULL RIDE YES!! So here is the chapter and please review

* * *

The announcement of a missing hiker had an immediate effect on the house. Everyone was in the lobby of the inn not 20 minutes later, ready to go into town. Jacob found himself mashed between Carl and Tristan in the cab of one of the trucks. No one said much, but you could all but feel the tension that had settled in the air. Jacob was forcing himself to stay awake, he could feel his body reacting like it had the times when he went days without sleep. Auto pilot.

Carl's fingers had tightened on the wheel to the point where it was making odd groaning noises, Jacob wondered blearily how strong he was before Carl relaxed his grip. Jacob had only seen one person break the steering wheel of a car and that had been Paul when the bloodsuckers had gotten away that time that they were tracking Victoria. He had never thought that actual humans could do that as well. Jacob's musings on Carl's strength carried them into the city where there was a large group if people gathered in the town square.

He climbed out along with the others and noticed that while some were relived to see the Baptistes and their family they also looked rather wary of them. He cast a glance around the circle and figured he knew the answer to that. He hadn't really noticed the sheer size of them before, being around the same height and weight as the boys, but they towered over the townsfolk. And add the forbidding aura that some of the older boys had in spades you get nervous people.

He listened as the chief of police gave the standard details on the missing woman. She was in her early 20's, blond, about 5'5" and athletically built. Her name was Rebecca and she had been missing for 12 hours from the hiking trail that her and her friends had taken. Jacob could tell the chief was annoyed that they had branched off the marked trail and her friends had continued on when she decided to take a break. Jacob himself was annoyed, that was probably how she got lost, she had no idea where she went, and now she could be anywhere in the park, and all they had was an approximate location.

He watched as the chief and Gabriel began to divide up the groups, all the inn workers were put in their own groups. Carl and Gregory would be driving up and down the trail looking for her, while the other ranged out on foot. The chief placed him with the local high school kinda in shape group and assigned them a piece of land right off where the hikers had branched off the trail. Jacob eyed his group with a wary eye, they reminded him greatly of Mike Newton and company, one even styled his hair in the same little spikes.

They were dropped off by a parent on the trail and pointed in the general direction of their search area, but when Jacob started to walk over the other boys didn't follow. In fact they started to talk about a recent party. Jacob listened with shock as they started to lie inventively about the girls that they had laid.

"So, Megan was all over me, 'cause I'm the quarterback, you know. And I was like 'Hey, baby, let's slow down,' and she was like 'no.' So, we did it, right there in her... I mean my car. And let me tell you, she's real good at driving stick shift." The blond boy that seemed to lead the little group was saying as his friends listened on in awe.

"Aw hell man, that's nothing. I'm trying for Serena, I ain't afraid of her brothers, just adds to the excitement." This young man was rather unfortunate looking, small and weedy, he wouldn't have stood a chance in a fight with Rosa.

As his friends expressed disbelief in his statement, Jacob opened his mouth to yell and then gave it up as a bad job. He slipped into the woods without them.

He started to search the normal way, when he remembered how Sam had found Bella in the woods, he shrugged off the pain of the memory and backed further off to go wolf. He didn't need the sex freaks to actually start looking and see him, that might not go over well.

Jacob slunk around the trees looking for a quiet spot where he could strip and transform. He had finally found a spot where he couldn't hear the calls of the search party when he saw the wolves. He quickly ducked behind a tree and thanked whatever god there was that he was downwind of the predators. There had to at least be 20 of them and even in his wolf form he knew that he couldn't take them on and win if it came to that. He peered around the tree to see if they had passed on yet and was greeted by the perplexing sight of the wolves spaced out in a circle and scenting the ground. It was obvious that they were looking for something, but there were rabbits around and the wolves were ignoring them.

Jacob frowned and looked closer at the animals, it was them that he realized that one of them had a shirt in it's mouth. They were searching for a person? But they weren't the trained dogs that the park rescue had brought, they weren't trained at all as far as he could tell, there wasn't a human with them. Jacob held very still and tried not to make any noise, he wanted to figure out what the hell they were doing.

They had gotten maybe twenty yards away from his hiding place when one of them stopped and threw back his head and howled. The large black one followed him over and also howled when he saw whatever the other wolf had been looking at. Jacob only had a short moment to ponder the reaction when a large Jeep came crashing through the woods. He saw Carl and Gregory hop out and scoop up the missing hiker. She was obviously what the wolves had been searching for. Carl held the door open for Gregory and turned and made a short bow to the large black wolf before hopping in himself and revving the engine. They were in and out in less than 10 minutes.

As soon as Carl and Gregory where gone the wolves turned as well and started to head deeper into the woods, Jacob watched them until the trees had swallowed them up. He then turned back to the path, the search was over and there was no need for him to still be out in the woods when he could be sleeping.

He thought about maybe telling someone what he had seen, but decided against it. No one would believe him and in truth he had no idea what he had witnessed himself. Maybe he needed to do more research into this area. There were other tribes around that could maybe had similar gifts to his tribes...maybe. Or maybe this was all perfectly normal and he was looking for something odd, but then ... the whole Carl bowing to the wolf thing was really weird, in fact it was what the tribal elders did to Sam. Hum, maybe he should call his dad...

Oh, forget it. He was too tired to think anymore. He would ponder it more when he had a solid 8.

* * *

Serena sat tensed next to her mother in the Jeep, the lost hiker was the 3rd this winter. Maybe they really needed to make better maps and forbid going off the trail. There was going to come a time when they weren't going t be able to find them, and it was still winter, and she hoped to God that the girl was dressed right.

"Serena, sweetie, calm down. Everything is going to be okay." Her mother soothed, lifting one hand off the steering wheel and smoothing down her hair. Serena cast a glance at her mother, she never seemed to worry about anything.

"It's not that Mom, if we find her how are we going to explain it, again."

"Like we always do, we know these woods like the backs of our hands. The townsfolk are never going to be able to accept that, but it sets us a little higher than they can deal with. The heroes of Calais. They can't run us out this time."

Serena sighed and thought about the stories that the older ones told, about the fire that burned down the first inn, and the subsequent year in the suburbs. Funnily enough they never mentioned details from that year other than that they didn't like it there. Serena felt that there was a deeper meaning under the silence than others wanted her to know.

"Well, at least this one is at night. We can be in out wolf skins without having to worry overmuch about being seen. Right?"

"Right sweetie, and your father is very confidant that we will find her. She wasn't very far off the trail this time."

They rode in silence the rest of the way until they reached the middle of town. She noticed that Jacob was there. She had thought that he would have tried to get some sleep, he looked terrible. She watched him instead of listening to Chief Robbins, the man could talk and talk, Jacob actually looked like he was listening. Serena noticed somewhat distantly that Zach had stolen a piece of the girl's clothing and that they had the exact spot they had gone off the trail. She noticed however with great detail that Jacob didn't seem pleased with the group that he been assigned, and honestly she couldn't blame him. That group was complete dunderheads. She looked up when her father tapped her on the shoulder and with a sigh followed him to the car, they drove way into the park and got out at a spot where there weren't any other people.

"Alright everyone," her father boomed over the clearing. "This is a simple search and find. Spread out in circular formations and howl when you think that you've found her. Carl and Greg are driving around waiting for the signal so we don't need to worry about the cars or anything. Let's find her."

Serena stretched and started the change. She could feel her back pop and the bones begin to stretch as the change overtook her, a few minutes later she was the light gray wolf of her wolf skin.

She trotted over to where Zach was waiting and got a whiff off the shirt that he had swiped. After all the pack members had sniffed the shirt he picked it up and they set off into the forest. The searching was rather boring, sniff until you think that you have a trail. The ground was slightly damp and thus held the scent better, but also magnified all the other scents that were also present. She had been looking for over an hour when they got to the section that Jacob and the football players their water boy had been assigned. She wasn't surprised to see the boys weren't doing anything, but she couldn't see Jacob, and that did surprise her.

Serena got back in the circular pattern that the rest of her family was in and fanned out. She thought that at one point she caught a glimpse of denim around a tree, but it was gone when she looked again. Suddenly Tristan set up a howl that had her father hurrying over as well. They had found the hiker, Carl and Gregory did their part and everyone headed back to the cars and their clothes. As they were walking away Serena looked back over her shoulder and could have sworn that she saw someone standing there watching them, but they were gone when she looked next. She convinced herself that it was a trick of the light.

* * *

Jacob collapsed into the bed that was now his, thank God that it was comfortable. He shut his eyes and considered crashing for several hours and waking up only when he at least had gotten a solid 8 winks. He was right on the median of sleep and the land of the waking when the howls and barks shot him straight up. He was off the bed and half way to wolf form when he remembered that it was not his pack. Instead he rushed to the window and peered out into the false dawn gloom. The same wolves from the night before where in the yard, and they were... playing? Almost like it was their territory and they felt completely safe there, but it was civilization. Wolves should never want to come this close.

"What the hell is going on here?" Jacob asked himself. As he watched the large black wolf that reminded him of Sam, gave a short commanding bark and trotted around the side of the house, out of his sight. The rest of them followed suit.

Jacob shook his head and laid back down, "And to think that I came here to get away from the wolves."

He muttered to himself before falling deeply asleep.

It was nearly 11 o'clock when he surfaced again. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes and pulling on his shirt he stumbled into the kitchen.

Theo gave him a mild glance before placing a large cup of coffee and even larger plate of waffles in front of him.

"Thanks," Jacob mumbled before starting to shove food in his face.

"Tired after the search last night?"

"Yeah, and add to that, that I haven't had a decent nights sleep in months. I just crashed and went completely dead to the world." He looked up from his waffles with a slightly distressed look on his face. "Gabriel isn't mad that I'm not working is he?"

"Nah, Tristan said that he tried to wake you up, but you said a dirty word and rolled back over. Called him dad too. Not a morning person huh?"

"Only when I don't get enough sleep," Jacob drained his coffee mug and rose to dump his dishes in the sink. "So, off to work I go. Hey, real fast. Did the wolves last night wake you up as well?"

Theo nearly dropped the plate that he was washing, but managed to save it.

"Wolves?" he asked sharply. "No, I didn't hear any wolves, you might have been mistaken."

"No, I looked out my window and saw them. Oh, well, just thought that I should mention it. Don't want anyone to get hurt, right."

Jacob grabbed his jacket off the peg and proceeded to head over the the carpentry shed, not knowing that he was leaving a dumbstruck man behind him.

"SHIT!!" Theo threw a towel across the room. If Jacob was that alert they would have to watch what they did around him now. He strode over to the phone and dialed his dad's office.

"Dad? We need a pack meeting. It's about Jacob."

* * *

Dun, dun, dun, dun, DAH

what will happen next? review and tell me what you think it should be


	4. Chapter 4

Here is the next chapter, standard disclaimer applies. though i do own all the characters that came willy-nilly out of my own brain. Sorry, about the long update time

Thanks also go out to my amazing beta, Wolfen Dreams, she had a lot of input on this chapter and made it the better story that it is today

* * *

The pack waited until after dinner to meet. Jacob had been dispatched to the local department store with a pay advance to buy more clothes, so they had an hour's time to talk.

"He's aware that there are wolves. I don't think that he is connecting the wolves with us, just that they come right up to the house. He was ... curious about them, not afraid like I had been expecting. Almost as if it was normal for him to see them like that, he was way too blasé about it." Theo was pacing in front of the fireplace as he spoke, rehashing his quick conversation with Jacob that morning.

"He mentioned that he lives near a forest back home, maybe it is normal." Carl offered, his brow furrowed as he remembered what else Jacob had told him. "His tribe, or whatever they are called, they also see the wolf as the family protector. It's a symbol to him already; maybe he's just seeing his family here."

"Whatever the reason, we need to be more aware of what we do around the house while he is here. We can't turn him out, or else the town will start talking again. We can't afford the questions, and he is a very good worker and an excellent craftsman. The figurine that he made yesterday was amazing, and the table that he started today looks like it will also turn out to be very well made. We need him, but we also need to remember that he is not one of us." Gabriel stood from where he had been sitting and turned to his pack, his family.

"That's right, he is human, and therefore innocent. He is more aware than other humans, so we need to be more careful. His father didn't know that he was here until he called, let's keep in mind that he seems to be a loner and just leave him be. He doesn't seem to confide in other people so we don't need to worry about someone in town becoming a buddy of his or something. Let's just be our human selves and there is no reason not to trust him We haven't really had a problem here or with him yet, let's keep it that way.." Vivian reached up for her husband's hand and gripped it hard as she remembered the last human that the pack had known. He gave her a sad smile and wrapped up the meeting.

"This is not how it was 25 years ago, and we are not the same people. Let's go for our run, Rena darling. Stay behind and wait for Jacob, let him call his dad, and then come join us." Without looking at his daughter for her consent he walked to the door and the rest of the pack followed and left her alone.

Serena scowled at the door and wanted to kick something. She got to play babysitter while the rest of the pack got to play. And she knew why, she was unmated and males had started to sniff around her when they thought that their mates weren't looking. Her father wanted some time for the pack to loosen up before she came and joined them. If everyone was in a good mood by the time that she got there, there would be less problems. Technically, wolves mated for life, but that didn't mean that their human counterparts would have the same ideals.

Serena plopped down into the main couch and turned on the T.V. While she waited for Jacob to get back so that she could ditch him and get the hell outside. She would tell him the normal story, they went to bed early because they had to wake up so early. Then she would leave him in his room, tell him to get some shut eye and go have fun herself.

It would be easy.

#$%^&*()$%^&*

Jacob drove into town in Carl's truck wondering a little about the brush off that he had received earlier after dinner.

"_Jacob, here is a pay advance. Get some clothes in town so that you aren't wearing the same clothes every day. We'll all be asleep when you get back, so just head upstairs and get some sleep okay?" Gabriel had handed him an envelope and walked away without another word. _

Jacob knew that there was probably nothing going on, but it was still a little weird that Gabriel had seemed so tense around him. There had been nothing wrong yesterday, and even the guys in the shop had been fine with him being late until after dinner.

He shrugged and peered through the windshield looking for the turnoff into town. He wasn't sure that the stores would even still be open, but Vivian had assured him that they were. She had also advised him to get a better haircut. He ran a hand through the uneven locks and winced. She probably had a point, his hair was suffering from a point when he had cut it again because of Bella and the choice that she had made. He knew that they loved each other and everything, but _still _she would rather be a bloodsucker than live with _him_?

He forced himself to stop thinking about it, especially when the steering wheel started to groan under his hands. He relaxed his grip and then noted that there were several cracks along the areas that people place their hands. He hadn't done all of that, it must have been Carl. He could recall with vivid clarity that last night Carl had also made the steering wheel groan. Jacob decided that he really needed to look into that.

He made the turnoff into town and parked in front of the Wal-Mart. He wanted to be able to get enough stuff that he wouldn't have to make this trip again anytime soon. He noted that there was also a Big & Tall next door, he could go there if nothing here would fit. And he just might, he had grown even more if that was possible. He got his haircut first as it closed before the Wal-Mart and for $5 it was pretty good. Better than anything that he and his dad had done in the kitchen. He ran his hand through it as he walked into the store, it was much shorter now more like the cut that Carl and Tristan had. Almost a crew cut, but longer than the Marines regulation.

As he flipped through the racks of clothes grabbing pants that were in his size, he would try them on just to make sure, and one style of shirt in many colors, an older man approached him. He glanced over at the man and immediately didn't like the way that he was being looked at. Almost as if he was under a microscope and the man was the scientist.

"So, you are the young man that the Baptistes hired. They don't normally hire anyone that isn't in the family. Turned down my own boy as a dishwasher of all things," the man leaned on the rack nearest Jacob and stared at him.

Jacob inwardly groaned and hoped that this wasn't going to become some sort of territory clash. All he wanted was clothes, not to piss some old man off because he thought he stole his son's job.

"Well, I'm not from around here and they were kind enough to give me a job when I had no where else to go. I'm working in the carpentry end of it." Jacob smiled and turned to go to the socks and underwear area when the man walked in front of him and stopped him.

"See, we have a problem around here with outsiders, we don't like them. We like them even less when they work with the freaks at the inn. So, you need to realize that you will answer to me if you want to get out of this town with your body intact. You will do what I say, and that means that you will watch the freaks and report back to me." He crossed his arms and smirked at Jacob, thinking that he had him good and scared. There had been few newcomers that hadn't bowed down to him, and even then they never stayed long.

He thought the Baptistes were freaks? Jacob could just imagine how the man would react if he saw him in his wolf form. Jacob smirked back himself and relaxed more against the rack as the very thought filled his head. He decided that maybe it would be fun to mess with this guy.

"Sorry, who are you?"

"Brett Karlson, my son's the quarterback at the local high school." Ahh, the father of the sex idiot that had all but refused to help in the search last night. Well, that certainly explained a lot.

"Mr. Karlson, I don't respond well to threats. That's why I left my hometown; they all wanted me gone before something else happened, think before you talk next time." He had lied through his teeth about why he had left La Push, but he figured that his size would led credence to the lie. Jacob brushed past him and headed to the checkout, he looked over the pants as he went, and figure that they would fit. They were the longest the store offered.

He really didn't need to get into a fight or something with these people that would show the fact that he didn't bruise easily. Maybe, it came from not even being allowed to tell anyone without Sam's permission that he was a little different from the next guy, but he didn't want anyone questioning anything about him.

He paid for his clothes and went out to the truck to leave before anything else happened. As he approached he saw that there seemed to be more people hanging out in the parking lot than necessary, and they seemed to be mostly around his truck. Jacob knew what he had to do.

As jacob approached the truck he slightly puffed out his chest and steeled his expression into something more fitting the 25 year old that he looked like rather than the 18 year old that he was. It was similar to what he had done when there had been another tribe that had some ancient beef with his. Some of the boys had come down to get pay back, but had run once they had seen the sheer size of the pack. It had also helped that all of them had looked like they wanted to carve out the other kid's entrails with spoons.

He wasn't going to let them think that they had him cowed, they seemed to back off as he got closer. Jacob frowned, this was not what he had expected to happen. He took the keys out of his pocket and started to open the door when a large meaty fist shut it again.

Jacob turned around and was face to face with a huge guy that had a nasty scar that ran over the bridge of his nose.

"Yes?" Jacob asked.

"You best not be coming into town anymore. And stay away from our kids, we don't want them hanging around with the freaks or their charity case."

"Don't worry, I had no intention of 'hanging around' with the wimps that you call kids, they couldn't even find it in themselves to search for a missing girl." With that said Jacob hopped into the truck and started the engine. Everyone backed away as he reversed and pulled out of town.

He finally let go of the temper that had been boiling away under the surface as the men mocked him. He considered slamming his fist onto the seat, but didn't want to risk breaking it. He pulled over when he was still about 5 miles from the inn and took his frustration out on a tree, beating it with his fists stopped the shaking in his body, and killed off the last of his anger. He stood for a moment fists still clenched at his side feeling the cuts heal as he stood there and considered his life. He was surrounded by people that didn't seem to trust him, and he didn't trust them back, and he couldn't even run to work out the last of his kinks because of the wolves that already roamed the woods. He also just didn't want to risk someone realizing that he never came back last night, and that would led to questions, which would led to more lies that he might not remember. He knew that even if the other pack was smaller than him, and he could take them, he didn't want to get into a fight. He just wanted to live his life in peace, or at least a small resemblance to the idea of it.

With a few choice swear words he climbed back into the car and started once again to the inn.

He never noticed that there was a wolf crouched in the bushes that had watched his temper burst. Zach ambled over to the destroyed tree and gave it a quick sniff, yes there was blood. But, Jacob didn't have any wounds on his hands, well, none that he could tell. Zach backed up a little and looked at the tree more closely. The damage to the main truck was amazing, and this wasn't a sapling. It was at least a 30 year old tree. He could tell that Jacob was going to have a lest some scratches to his hands and maybe even his arms tomorrow, he would look and maybe talk to his dad about it. It bore for greater watching at least, if the kid could do that to a _tree_ there was no telling what else he could do. Zach decided to keep all this to himself, at least until he had more proof and ducked back into the woods. Maybe, Jacob was just one of those stronger people, his size was certainly impressive. Also, it would make others nervous about him, and Lucien Dafoe had been hateful to humans since that summer in the suburbs, something about his son and the cause of death.

#$%^&*($%&*()_

Serena glanced up from the rerun of Cold Case that she was watching when the headlights passed by the window. She hopped up and made it to the door in time to see Jacob slam the door hard enough that some of the rusted paint spots flaked off a little.

"Hey, Carl is not going to like it if his truck is beaten up." She called out as he came up the stairs. She had started to smile at the joke, but it faded as she saw the expression on his face. If looks could kill she would be six feet under by now. She couldn't think that her slight reprimand had really affected him that much, or......shit, those people in town needed to learn to shut their mouths.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, following him into the house and up the stairs to his room. Serena was wondering what could have happened in an hour that could have pissed him off so much. There were many options of course thinking of where they lived. She was pinning her thoughts on the bigoted men that raised the idiot sons of the school football team.

"No, why do you say that? Could it be my temper or the fact that I just had to put up with being hassled because I work for your dad? Or maybe it's the fact that I was told to spy on your family or I wouldn't leave with all my parts? Yeah, you're right, there is something wrong." Jacob threw his bags on his bed and turned around and stared at her pale face, she looked like she was expecting the worst.

"Why does the town hate you? Huh, is there a reason that I pissed them off?"

"You said no?" Serena was rather surprised, he would protect them? Why? It wasn't as if he was one of them and knew why they had to keep to themselves, he was just the new kid on the block and kept secrets as well. Had the men said something to him, that would maybe explain why he looked so enraged at the idea of spying on them.

"Why would I tell you what happened if I said yes?"

"I don't know, maybe you got dropped as a child or something. But, did you say no?"

"Yes, I said no. Jesus Christ, your dad gave me a job for no real reason and is feeding and sheltering me, why would I betray a man that did that?"

"Well, thank you then. That was very nice of you to refuse them. I'll tell my father what you did for us." Serena turned to leave when Jacob stopped her.

"Why does it matter?" Jacob asked, he knew that there was more than met the eye with this family.

"It just does, that someone that isn't related to us is willing to keep us safe. We sometimes step on people's toes, that's all"

Serena turned toward the door again when she stepped back and looked at him.

"Do you want to make that phone call to your dad?"

"Yeah, I really do thanks."

Jacob walked down to the phone, pondering as he went. He enjoyed arguing with Serena, it was nice to have someone that was willing to fight back sometimes, even if she hadn't really fought this time. But, she was much more self-confidant than Bella had ever been and much more willing to stand up for what she believed in. Jacob picked up the phone and dialed his dad, hoping that he would be there and he wouldn't have to deal with Sue again. He didn't want another lecture over what he was doing to his 'poor father'.

Surprisingly it was Embry that picked up the phone.

"Hello, Black residence."

"Embry?"

"JAKE!!! Hell, man, what's up?"

"Why are you answering the phone at my house?"

"Well, Paul was here and I needed to talk to him, and then the phone rang and I answered it. And it was you! Dude, where are you?! I am so bored here that I am considering joining you, where ever it is that you are."

"Is Paul still living with my dad? But, I thought that Dad had moved in with Sue and the other Clearwaters."

"Umm, well, you see. Rachel came back to see your dad and look for you and then Paul saw her, and well, then he imprinted." Embry's voice dropped lower and lower as he spoke, knowing that Jacob was not going to like this.

"PAUL DID WHAT??"

Serena pressed herself closer to the wall as she listened, she knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but what the hell was imprinting and what was wrong with it? She hoped that Jacob wouldn't look down the hall and see her pressed around the corner, that would be rather hard to explain.

"Listen, your dad doesn't mind, and neither does Rachel. They are together, obviously, and now Rachel is in on the big secret. So where are you, all the love is making me afraid that it's contagious. I have no mind to get hitched any time soon, so where are you?"

"I'm not telling, it's all Sam needs is more people coming out here and not staying close to home. And you know that you are needed there more than anywhere else."

"Yeah, yeah. You are fine, right?"

"Yes, and I'll come home when I want to. There is some stuff that I want to deal with."

"Okay, be safe and stuff. You know, since we aren't there to protect you."

"Sure, sure. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

"Bye." Jacob hung up the phone and rubbed his chin, there was going to be a serious talk between him and Paul when he got the chance. Paul's temper was legendary and he didn't want what happened to Emily to happen to his sister.

Still dwelling on what he had learned and everything that had happened so far he headed upstairs and went to bed.

Serena peered around the corner of the wall when she heard the door to Jacob's room close, she also has some serious pondering to do. She slipped outside and went to join her pack, but she couldn't get her mind off the boy that made no sense.

* * *

Oh, and by the way.... please review


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for the ridiculous wait for all my stories.. college... what else can i really say but that it took over my entire life

* * *

As Jacob arose the next morning the first thing that filled his mind what all the problems that seemed to be popping up at home. He could always go back and help out, see his dad and sisters, hang with the boys, and apologize to Sue for clearing out the way he did, but.

He didn't think that he was ready yet to leave the Wolf Run Inn, there was something about the place that was pulling at him. He needed to stay and see if there was something here that could help him get over Bella and maybe become the person that he was supposed to be.

It all sounded so corny to him, just in his head that he hadn't mentioned it to his dad all the times that they had spoken about the future or when he called him. Jacob didn't think that he was meant to stay on the Rez with the rest of the guys, becoming a wolf with them had seemed like a final nail in the coffin until he had found the strength, and desperation, to run. And now he was here at the Inn, with secrets and commitments to more people than just himself. He couldn't run out on these people, they needed him to a certain degree, and he needed them.

Jacob wandered down to breakfast hoping that Theo had once again made something that would taste absolutely amazing since he was starving. Granted he had managed to cut down on how much he was eating now that he wasn't out running every night, but he still had a massive frame that he needed to nourish.

Theo gave a grunt at him and slid another plate onto the island. Serena was already there digging into a mountain of eggs and hashbrowns. Jacob raised an eyebrow at her, "That hungry from watching Cold Case all night?" He teased her, though it was a legit question since he had never seen a girl eat that much. Well, Leah, but he wasn't sure if she counted as a real girl.

"Ummm, actually I normally snack at night, but last night I didn't get up so I'm making up for it now." Serena aimed a sunny smile at Jacob and hoped that he bought her story. She couldn't exactly tell him that she was hungry because she had been running in the forest until dawn.

Jacob gave her a funny look like he wasn't sure whether or not to believe her, but then turned his attention to Theo who was rather bad-temperedly bashing the pots and pans around on the stove. "You alright there man? I think the dishes might give up the fight if you let them."

"What?" Theo turned around obviously unaware that he had been making such a spectacle of himself. "No, sorry. Zach pissed me off last night, he wouldn't go to sleep and turn off the stupid computer. He kept looking up different things about random crap and trying to talk to me about it." Theo slammed another pot into the sink, "I swear to God that boy spends more time in his head than he does here on planet Earth with the rest of us."

"Sorry man, my sisters use to keep me up at night when they would be on the phone with random people jabbering away about stupid things. I understand the desire to either kill them or destroy whatever they are using to keep you up." Jacob thought he saw a dangerous smile spread across Theo's face, but decided not to ponder it too much. He pulled up from his stool and grabbed his jacket to head off to the carpentry shed. He smiled at Serena and left.

Serena stopping shoving her food in as soon as she heard the door close, "Did you break the computer?"

"Yea!" Theo gave an exasperated sigh at her look. "You would have too if it meant getting a little peace and quiet. Zach kept going off about something that he thought he saw Jacob do. He wanted to look it up on the internet to see if it was even possible."

"What was it that he saw Jacob do?"

"Almost beat a tree into a pulp with his bare hands or something along those lines, I don't really care what Jacob did or didn't do as long as he keeps making awesome things with wood."

"But," Serena said after a minute. "But, his hands weren't beat up at all. They were fine." Theo finally stopped slamming the pots and stared at her.

There, apparently, was yet more to Jacob Black than there seemed.

* * *

Zach peered into his father's office and tapped on the door when he saw that he wasn't on the phone and that he was alone for once.

"Zach? What brings you over to this part of the house? Don't you normally avoid the paperwork side like the plague?" Gabriel smiled at his son as he set a stack of papers back on his desk for later.

"I.. ummm… I saw something last night that I think you should know about. Something that involves Jacob." Zach sidestepped around the room and wouldn't sit down; seeming to find the old pictures on the walls more interesting then the facial expression that his father was currently wearing.

"Well, what was it that Jacob did that is so interesting that I need to know? What did he raid the pantry or something?" asked Gabriel.

"No, he was driving back from the store last night and well, he was angry that I could tell. And he stopped the truck about 5 miles from the house, got out and smashed a tree into a pulp with his bare hands. I mean, a pulp Dad, not just a little indention into the side, the tree was not a tree when he was done." Zach stopped pacing finally stopped moving and looked at his dad so he would know that Zach was being serious, Gabriel could always tell by someone's face when they were telling the truth.

"Do you remember where this tree is?"

"Yeah, I marked it so I could go back later and double check," Zach answered.

"Show me," was all Gabriel said as he left the room.

* * *

Theo was cleaning up after breakfast when his father came in trailed by Zach.

"Did you see the state of Jacob's hands this morning?" Gabriel asked Theo.

"Yeah, they were fine. No scratches or scars that are new or anything."

"So you know what I'm referring to then when I ask about his hands?" Gabriel questioned.

"Well, Zach wouldn't shut up about it last night. Kept going on and on about Jacob smashing a tree into bits and how he was going to figure out how he did it. Seemed a little obsessive if you ask me, the guy is just a little stronger than the average Joe."

"Explain, then, how his hands are fine this morning? Even boxers wearing gloves get bruises at least!" Zach shot back at his older brother. He knew that sometimes he wouldn't let go of subjects especially when it was something unusual, but this was really odd.

Theo rolled his eyes at his younger brother's drama.

"Theo, watch him for me, anything odd or something that just doesn't add up, tell me. And get Jacob to talk about his friends and family, we need to know more about him," Gabriel ordered as he once again swept out the door.

* * *

Jacob wandered in for lunch unknowing that at that very moment Gabriel, Gregory, and Zach were examining the tree he had vented on the night before. Theo was the only one in the kitchen, grilling cheese sandwiches for the guests with a stew on the side for the family.

"Hey man, how was the breakfast rush?" Jacob asked knowing that Theo liked to bitch and moan about the whiny people that he had to feed every day. This afternoon, however, was different.

"It was alright, the usual. How was your morning? Any different than it would be at home?" Theo asked Jacob. This took Jacob by surprise, enough of one that he answered truthfully for once.

"It was different yeah. Normally my dad would be shoving me out the door to school or Sam would be sending me home if I ended up spending the night at his place with the others. Then Quil, Embry, and I would be heading to lunch right now to meet up with Jared and some others to talk about what we would be doing that afternoon and night." Jacob answered as he twirled his spoon around in the sauce, it gave him a pang to talk about his friends and not be able to see them.

"Why would you be somewhere else other than home?" Theo asked, looking up from the stove so he would be able to see Jacob's face when he answered.

"Sometimes we would be out really late and I would just crash there rather than walking or running back to my dad's place so that I could get the most sleep. It wasn't a big deal; all the guys did it from time to time." Jacob started eating as he talked; he needed to be getting back to the shed.

"Ah, being a hooligan and stuff running around till the wee hours?" Theo asked.

"Nah, nothing fun like that," Jacob answered. He shoved back his stool and put his dirty bowl in the sink. "Well, I gotta get going its Tristan's turn to take a break for lunch. See you later tonight." Jacob pulled on his coat and left again, once more leaving more questions behind than answers.

Gabriel pulled up at the front of the house with Zach and Gregory. They had examined the tree in great detail in the bright light the winter sun had lent them. There had indeed been blood on wood and they agreed that it carried Jacob's scent all over it. But what did it all mean? They had hunted all afternoon for more clues that could help them figure all this out to no avail. There was nothing else at the scene that could help them.

Gabriel was still musing as another car pulled up behind it and it's occupant started to climb out. Gabriel paused in starting to walk over to help with bags. It was Aiden Teague. The man who almost singlehandedly ruined the pack and almost killed his wife. Gabriel was about to tell Zach to go inside so he could settle this with Aiden in private when he heard Jacob's voice.

"Mr. Teague? What are you doing here? I thought you said you were moving to New Mexico to teach?"

Aiden turned around and smiled rather weakly at Jacob, "Well, one of my more promising students? I could ask you the same question."

* * *

I know, I know, if you have questions ask and I SHALL answer.. especially if you arent a reader of Blood and Chocolate, oh and please review!


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